Support for kiwi, not moas, in Rimutaka

The
Government today announced a $70,000 Community Conservation
Partnership Fund grant for the Rimutaka Forest Park Trust to
ensure the survival of its kiwi population.

“This
wild kiwi population which exists so close to the nation’s
capital in the Rimutaka Forest Park is very special and we
must ensure it survives. The greatest threat is stoats,
which are responsible for over 50 per cent of kiwi deaths.
This grant will enable the Trust to treble its network of
stoat traps to 7000 hectares, and provide a sufficient area
for a long-term sustainable population of kiwi. It will also
open up a longer-term opportunity for the reintroduction of
kaka and whio,” Dr Smith says.

“There is an
irony in this Government grant for kiwi protection in the
Rimutaka with Labour MP Trevor Mallard’s calls this month
for recreating the moa in the same area. National’s focus
on kiwi protection in contrast to Labour’s on recreating
moa illustrates the difference between a Government that is
focused on the real and practical, and an Opposition that is
focused on distractions and pipe dreams. The priority needs
to be ensuring kiwi do not go the way of the moa,
particularly with scientists advising that kiwi will be
extinct in the wild for our grandchildren outside of special
sanctuaries like Zealandia and Kapiti Island without
additional pest control.”

The Community Conservation
Partnership Fund was announced in March this year and
provides $26 million over the next four years to community
organisations undertaking natural heritage and recreation
projects. The Fund will support hundreds of projects on
public and private land and is particularly focused on
helping the survival of the large number of New Zealand’s
threatened wildlife, like the kiwi.

“I commend the
work carried out by the Rimutaka Forest Park Trust since it
was established in 1998. The park is visited by thousands of
people each year for walking, tramping, camping and hunting.
The Trust’s commitment to protecting and ensuring the
indigenous wildlife in the area means visitors are able to
enjoy an even more enhanced experience in our great
outdoors,” Dr Smith says.

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